Undercover The Original
by music-is-love10
Summary: She was 23 and alone. Immersing herself in work, Peyton Sawyer knew naught about love, lust, or passion. She was a CIA agent. She knew her mother was killed, and she knew that people always left. He was 24 and new in the field. Can he open up her heart?
1. Authors Note

This the ORIGINAL version of Undercover that was posted back in October.

NOTHING has been changed. None of the A/N's, nothing.

I just re-posted this, well, because I'm gone from here and I haven't DONE anything with the 'new' version.

Anyways, read at your own risk. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first fic. I hope its good, I think its off to an OK start, but please dont hesitate to give me any constructive criticism, in fact, constructive criticism is my best friend right now.**

Sitting in the middle of a dimly lit, smoky bar, Peyton Sawyer was observing her surroundings. She'd never been good at mingling, just because of the nature of her job. She didn't interact with people very much, or very well outside of her job. She was a CIA agent in the special detectives area- which meant that at any given moment she would have to give up her life and go to some unknown place for months at a time. It was her job to discover threats and report them back to her agency, so the country could run in peace. Even without her constant travel, its not like she could tell anyone who she actually was. And blow her cover? Yeah, right. Not even her friends knew much about her. She lived her life in secrecy, and was a very quiet, broody girl.

So here she was, sitting in an elite club, sipping a martini and wearing a slinky silver halter dress that came just above her knees. She should be grateful for her time off, right? Wrong. It wasn't like she could give her friends and family updates on her exciting job, she pretended that she worked as an international business person, which would explain her constant travel. At first, she gave it her best effort, but with her job and its demanding requirements, she slowly drifted away from everyone she considered to be her best friends. While away, she couldn't talk to anyone who knew her from home, and she didn't make very many new friends, in fear of losing them after her mission was over. Consequently, she drifted away from Nathan, Haley, Skills, Junk, Mouth, Fergie, but most of all, Brooke Davis. Her former bff in high school, Brooke was the one who seemed to resent Peyton the most for not keeping contact. Everyone else just seemed to forget about her existence, and buried themselves in work, family and life. She was the only one who couldn't have any of that, no friends, no family, certainly not a relationship, no. Peyton Sawyer, young , single, 23 and highly attractive, was alone. She put on the face of a bitch and sent out the kind of vibe that said "Mess with me, and I'll mess you up."

Startling her out of her thoughts, the sound of Peyton's cell phone, made her jump a mile. She hit her leg on the counter. "Damn! Now ill have a rather attractive bruise. Perfect." The bartender looked up and chuckled, making her mad. "Yeah real funny." She flipped open her cell, and answered the call.

"Peyton?"

" Yeah, its me"

" OK good, listen, we're gonna need you to fly back out to D.C. We have a little bit of a change, and it was rather unexpected" said her boss.

She sighed. " Yeah OK, its not like I have a choice." She loved her job, she really did, but it had been 3 days since she got to LA, and she really wanted to enjoy her time off.

" Alright, be there by no later than 7 pm"

" Done." She closed her phone, paid the bartender, who just smirked at her, and went home.

"What could possibly be so important that they need me there in less than a day?" She thought to herself. Still thinking, Peyton packed up her stuff, booked a flight and went to the airport. She was still consumed in her thoughts when the plane landed, and it startled her again. The man sitting next to her just stared at her. " Are you OK? You've been staring out the window for the whole flight." "Yeah, I'm fine, now please move." She didn't have time for small talk!

Rushing to headquarters, and nearly killing herself doing so, she ran into her boss's office flustered and out of breath. "Whoa there, breathe." " Yeah well its not easy when you give me less than 12 hours to get here!" Pete simply chuckled. " 2 years and you're not used to it yet, Sawyer?" She just rolled her eyes. "Alright, so what is this important that you called me back here?"

" We're giving you a partner for your next mission, he's new but very qualified, I want you to partner up with him for this next task." Pete said.

She just stared at him incredulously. "PETE! You know that I work alone! I'm a good agent, I get my work done! I don't need someone to play house and check up with me! I don't want to be dragged down by some slow punk assed novice!" Peyton practically screeched.

" Slow? Punk assed? Novice?" said an unfamiliar voice. " Sorry babe, I don't think so." She whirled around and was met by the sharp gaze of electric blue eyes.

"Peyton, meet your new partner, Lucas Scott." said Pete.

**HOPE YOU LIKED IT. PLEASE REVIEW! This is the first chapter, and depending on the feedback, ill decide if I want to continue it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! They really do mean a lot. Keep reading and reviewing oh awesome readers of mine! Oh, and I was thinking about alternating view points of the chapters, like one would be Lucas and the next Peyton and so on. If you don't like it, or feel that it is confusing, let me know!**

**P.s. 'desire to be unique' as for your question, no Lucas doesnt know Peyton. I just made it so that Peyton had the Tree Hill gang, and Lucas went to Pontiac w/ different people. Since in the show the 2 schools had contact, ill incorporate that into this somehow.**

I was standing near Pete's office, waiting for my new partner, when I saw a storm of curly hair marching right past me into the office. She looked flustered and red, it was quite amusing to see her storm in there with an attitude. I saw here march in there and smirk at Pete. "She has some nerve. Pete seems cool, but a smirk? I didn't think he took bullshit." I thought to myself. Pretty soon I heard her screech that she didn't want a partner, especially not a new punk assed novice. I could only assume that she was talking about me. Wow, she has some nerve. Pete saw me staring and nodded for me to come in the room. Striding in, overly confident in myself, I called her out on the comment. "Slow? Punk assed? Novice? Sorry babe I don't think so." She spun around to face me, and I looked into her deep green eyes which caught me off guard. I was brought back to earth at the sound of Pete's voice filling my ears. "Peyton, meet your new partner, Lucas Scott." I stuck my hand out for a handshake, and Peyton simply looked at me like I was on crack. " You expect to me shake the hands of a novice?"She scoffed at me. "Nice Scott, looks like you got stuck with a feisty one." I thought to myself. Suddenly, just like the over confident stride in earlier, I found me shocking myself with the actions I was taking around this girl, as I just winked at her. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but then simply closed it. I smirked.

Pete cleared his throat. We both turned to face him, and he began describing the nature of our new task. Apparently, there was a threat to the United States government,according to observations in the other departments, was originating around Europe. We were to go to Europe and settle ourselves in, we would be living in a very cozy flat in Italy. It would have 4 rooms, 2 offices, 3 bathrooms, an amazing marble kitchen, and an even better view. This sounded amazing. I knew better than anyone that the amenities were always nice, but you have to still fend for yourself, pretend like you're normal, and lay low. Plus, I had to go home and tell my family that I was going to be gone for a while. Even though no one was supposed to know of my real job and my real life, I didn't like keeping secrets from my family. So, I told my mom and my uncle Keith, and they promised not to say anything. I always felt a little guilty for telling them because in case things got out of hand, they would be the first people in danger. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened.

"Alright guys, so we'll call you with updates soon. For now, you both need to go home and get packed up. Your flight leaves in 6 hours, but don't pack too much because we're giving you 1000 dollars to buy clothes." said Pete. I turned to Peyton, "Alright Peyton, I'll see you soon at the airport, and I look forward to working with you." For good measure, I stuck my hand out again. She just stared at me with a raised eyebrow. "If I didn't shake your hand once, why would I shake it the next time you stuck it in my face?". God, this girl was really something, I wondered if we were ever going to get along.

I went home deep in thought over my failing relationship with Lindsey, it just didn't seem right to me. It felt like I was playing it safe. And I Lucas Scott, didn't want that type of relationship. I wanted something where every kiss was electric and I would get anxious after not seeing my love for a couple hours. I wanted that intense passion, and burning desire. I wanted real love. Of course, I'd never admit to that. I valued my bad-boy reputation, it masked who I really was. I didn't need people just walking all over me because I let them in. Trust me, I know how that works. So, I settled. It was the best thing to do. I got home, and started pulling out a few things to shove into my suitcase.

After a while, I sat down on my bed and looked at the picture on my bedside table, it was of my high school buddies. I went to Pontiac High School in Wilmington, NC – best days of my life. Except, I moved on, and as much as I would love to tell them about the thrill of my life now, I just couldn't. I wasn't allowed to. I spent most of my free time with my family and occasionally Lindsey. Even she didn't know what I did, she just assumed I worked in the field of medicine and was constantly at conventions. I smiled sadly at the photograph and stuck it into my suitcase, along with my favorite novels. Judging by the way Peyton treated me, I would be spending a lot of alone time in Italy. I sighed and dumped everything into the suitcase. "Off we go." Looks like this trip would give me time to sort my life out , while I was protecting the government of course.

**Since this is my first fan-fic, I kinda want to build up some chapters and plot. So, you might see frequent updates. But I'm not really sure how long they'll last. You're just lucky I had practically no homework today. Please **_**HONESTLY **_**tell me what you thought of the chapters, even if its to say you hated it, as long as you tell me why. I really love these reviews, they boost my confidence SO much.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Chapter 3**

**I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! I am so happy you guys like it. I know I keep saying this but ANYTHING you have to say about the story is so helpful. I love questions because they make me pay more attention to the level of detail in my writing. Thanks for reading! P**

We had arrived in Italy two days ago, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We had an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea, and we lived in Genova. Our house was beautiful, even more so than I had imagined, it was perfect. We hadn't heard from headquarters yet, so Lucas and I were free to do whatever we wanted for the time being.

Both of us had adjusted to a fairly casual daily routine, neither of us speaking to each other very much. In all honesty, I was really pissed that Pete had stuck me with a partner. Usually I was always alone, and I had gotten so used to living my life alone and drowning out all pain and emotion that I felt, that because of this I didn't know how to act around him, much less how to talk to him. I felt like I ruined a chance of friendship after our argument which happened the first night we had moved in.

"_Hey Peyton, I know that we didn't get off to the best start, but we're gonna be spending a lot of time together, so we might as well be friends." Said Lucas._

_I thought about this, besides being overly cocky the first time we met, Lucas Scott wasn't that bad. The problem was that I didn't know how to be anyone's friend. It just wasn't what I did. After high school, I went on to North Carolina State University until my sophomore year – that was when I was recruited into the CIA. I told all my friends that I was working more hours because I needed the money to pay for tuition, then I just dropped out of school. No goodbye's, nothing. I mean, what was I going to say? "Sorry I'm leaving but I can't tell you why?" No. It was better just to leave. Then I got a phone call from my father 3 years ago. That call rocked my world, and is the reason why this week has been so hard on me. It's the same week 3 years ago that my life fell apart and I realized that I was truly alone._

"_Lucas, I'm going to be frank with you, I'm used to working alone. I do everything alone, I don't do friendships and I most certainly don't do relationships. In this life, there is no such thing as friends, hell, there isn't even a thing called family. Nothing lasts, friends and family aren't meant to be. You live alone, die alone. Grieving over the past is a waste of time, and people are always going to leave, so why bother?"_

_I think what I said shocked him, I could've sworn for at least a minute he just stared at me. Then he spoke kind heartfelt words which eased my fears. "You've been working alone for the past couple years, I get it, you keep to yourself and are an alone type of person. I get it, I do. But take a chance with me? I mean we could be here for a while and it would be shame to live hating each other. But I make a good friend, I swear." I sighed. What the hell? I mean, he just looked so god damn believable!_

"_Alright Scott, but I swear, if you piss me off, or I get weirded out by this, then its over." He just chuckled. What the hell? I thought, I am not being funny! It was almost too good be true. Almost. After a light salad and some pasta for dinner, Lucas and I sat on the balcony outside and popped open some beers. It was a nice evening out, and after a couple beers we started to talk about ourselves. I learned that he had a girlfriend named Lindsey, and an uncle named Keith and a mom named Karen. He was very close with his mom and uncle, and even though he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about his job, he told them. I told him about myself, but I didn't get into detail about my family or friends. It hurt too much to talk about it. Finally, I think he had had enough of me ducking the questions he was asking._

"_What's wrong Peyton? You haven't said anything about your family or friends yet. Every time I ask you, you just dodge the bullet. Is it that bad? I mean I thought we were working on the whole friends thing." he said. He wasn't yelling, but it was more of a concerned and frustrated request._

_Truth be told, all night, the whole bonding experience kept making my mind wander back my friends from high school. They were everything to me, even more so than my college friends. I had always tried to keep myself busy with work and other activities, never allowing my mind to wander back to them. I was trying to keep my emotions in check, and then the bullet hit me. He pulled the trigger when he asked me about my family. "Alright, so no talking about the friends,got it. But, what about your family? I've asked you about them and the only vibes I've gotten from you are that either your parents were assholes, and hated you. Or you were an ass and hated your parents. I mean, what was it Peyton? I've told you so much about myself, why can't you even try and open up with me?" I could tell that he was getting frustrated with me. I mean, I couldn't blame him. He answered anything I asked, but when it came time for me to answer, I backed away and put my walls up. So I did what I do best, ran._

"_God, Lucas! You just don't get it do you? I told you that I wasn't good at "friending", and you said you could accept that! But you can't can you? You just can't! And then, when I don't answer something, you go and make assumptions?! Who are you to judge my family? Don't ever, and I mean it, don't ever talk about them like that. I loved my family. We might not have been the merriest family out there, but we were a family. God! I can't believe I was actually beginning to think that having a friend might not be that bad. But you went ahead and proved me wrong, didn't you?" I stormed away and into my room, leaving a stunned Lucas and a couple empty six-packs out there._

Since then, I've gotten countless apology notes, flowers, gifts, you name it. But I just couldn't bring myself to trust him again. Hell, it wasn't even really his fault. It was mine, I'm the one who just doesn't know how to make friends, how to work with people, I'm just a loner. And I think the worst part about living the way I do, is that I've been sheltering myself behind these walls for so long now, that I cant even see above them. They've taken over. And that's the worst part. But forgiving him, and telling him not be sorry? Now that was just something that I could not do, I would not do. If I did, it meant that I was willing to try again, and I wasn't. I can't handle it. I just wish he would understand that.

So I went on with life as usual, Lucas and I living separate lives. The only time we really spoke was during meals, and that conversation was very forced. But I was trying, and I think he sensed that. He was very kind to me, something I didn't felt that I deserved after our bitch-fest. It was nice of him, but we were treading on eggshells, and we both knew it. Eventually I had to stop being a coward and just talk to him and apologize. Yeah..maybe later.

After a nice breakfast, Lucas went to his room, and I did the dishes. After I was about halfway through, the phone rang. I forgot that thing existed since no one used it. "Holy Shit" I said out loud. Lucas came padding out of his room. " Do you want me to get that? You're all soapy." He said. I nodded. After hearing a couple yeahs and we're fines. Lucas motioned for me to come to him. He put covered the mouth of the phone and said "Its headquarters."

**Thanks for reading, and please review! I'm trying to make my chapters longer, as I noticed that they were short. But, im trying. Remember to Review!!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

**Thank you all for the awesome reviews! They are all awesome! I am really happy that so many of you like it :) keep reading and reviewing! Sorry for the late update, I've been swamped with school work.**

For the last week and a half, it seemed like everything was going really well in the land of Peyton. Lucas and I had become good friends, and we were attached at the hip. We ate breakfast together, we shopped together, and I have to say it was pretty awesome. I really liked having him as friend, though I was still a little wary of him, he was doing his best and I could tell. It was really great, and it reminded me so much of my high school days, and just having fun.

Except, there was only so much fun we could have. I was constantly battling within myself to start the background work for the mission or to either spend another lazy day with Lucas. It was always a Lucas day. I knew eventually we would have to get started, but for now, just relaxing was nice. Besides, I had been called out here while I was supposed to be on vacation.

This was a nice break, considering if I had stayed in LA, I would have spent most of my time alone and bitter. I feel like Lucas made a different side of me come out, he possessed the ability to see the good inside of me and to read my mind, there wasn't really anything like an "uncomfortable silence" between us.

I was in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables for the pasta I was making for lunch, when I heard his footsteps nearing me. I felt his arm on the small of my back, while he looked over my shoulder to see what I was cooking. I could feel his breath on my neck and my arms.

" Hey girl, what's for lunch?" he asked me.

" I'm not really sure yet, I was thinking like vegetables and pasta."

" Nice, that sounds good. You want a hand?"

" Sure, that sounds good. Can you chop up the zucchini?"

"Yeah" he said. As he moved away from me to get the vegetable, I felt his hand slide across my back and, to be honest, it gave me the chills. His skin was always warm, and it was really nice. We fell into a comfortable silence while chopping, and the steady rhythm of the knives was nice.

While we were eating lunch, I decided to bring up the topic of work, because we really did need to get started.

"So, I was thinking, we really need to start preparing for the job that Pete told us about. The package he mentioned should be here soon, and he'll want an update on our status." I mentioned to Lucas.

" Yeah, alright, well where do you think we should start?"

" Well, I don't know how long we're going to be here, and I don't know what kind of access the European governments have on the US CIA, so I was thinking that we should go to the salon today and get makeovers. Just so we look different from the pictures they would have on file." I really did not want to risk anything, and as I looked up at Lucas I saw disbelief in his eyes.

" You really want me to have a makeover? No joke?" he asked.

" No joke" I stated firmly.

" Well, alright then, if you think its best. Do you want to go after we eat?" He asked me. I was shocked, I had actually expected more resistance to the idea. I nodded, and he smiled.

One meal and thirty minutes later we were at a hair salon called _Il Salone Italiano. _It was a cozy little salon we had found in the middle of town. We walked in, and the receptionist looked up and smiled.

"_Ciao. Come poterl'aiuto?" _she was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and really shiny teeth. I silently thanked Lucas for making me learn Italian.

"_Ho bisogno di al colorante i miei capelli" _I answered. In my opinion, I thought I had answered pretty well.

The lady smiled, and said " Are you guys from America?" I was shocked, she looked Italian to me.

" You speak English?" I asked with disbelief.

" Yes, I moved here to attend culinary school, so I know both languages. Your Italian is pretty good, but I recognized the American accent." I smiled gratefully.

" So you want to dye your hair?" she asked.

I nodded and said "Yeah, brown-ish and I was thinking that maybe we could give me some bangs and straighten it."

I felt Lucas nudge my side, so I looked over to see him shaking his head. " Peyton, I like your hair blond! And don't get rid of your curls!" He looked upset that I was even thinking about changing my hair. It was so sweet.

"Luke" I said, I touched his arm and laughed. "It'll come out when my hair grows out. It's not going to be brown and straight for forever." He still looked kind of upset. "Aww! Poor baby!" I laughed, "You'll get over it."

I looked over at the receptionist to see her smiling. " I must say, I agree with him, your hair is such a lovely color and the curls are simply gorgeous. People pay a lot of money to try and get their hair like that."

"I know, but like I said to him, I just want to change it up a bit, I mean, I don't have to pay anything to get my hair to be curly. If I don't like the brown, then I'll come back and have you re-dye it. Plus, my hair will grow out." I said. I was getting a tad irritated now. I just wanted my hair done!

"Well, OK, have a seat in that chair over there and Maria will be with you." She said. I went and sat down. I could hear Lucas talking to the receptionist, he was saying something along the lines of wanting a buzz cut. I wanted to tell him not to, but I remembered that it was all part of the job, and plus, he'd done the same thing when I wanted to change my hair. But, I really liked his hair right now, it was a nice smooth young adult look. His blond hair always stood up at the top, and it was adorable. I loved the way it was smooth and I had always wanted to run my hands through his hair.

After our respective makeovers, I had shoulder length brunette hair, and Lucas was sporting a more rugged look. We walked back to the house, and decided to stop for some gelato on the way. Lucas had his arm around my waist, and I was sure that to the rest of the world we looked like a couple. But I didn't really care that much, I had a friend and that's all that matters. Plus I'm never going to actually know anybody here, so who the hell cares what they think?

I got mint choclate chip, and Luke got cookie dough flavored gelatos. They were much better than the American version of gelato. The whole way home was filled with laughter and enjoyment. Lucas was constantly complaining about how he liked my blond curly hair better. " I always really wanted to shock you one day and yank your hair really hard." He said. "Asshole!" I shouted back. "No, I have really wanted to do that to someone, and you just seem like the perfect person!" He laughed at me. "Plus, your curly spirals were really cool. Its more exciting." He said. I shrugged. Its not like I had much choice, we couldn't be recognized by anyone in the European Nation meeting. "I'm gonna shower, Peyton! I'm really itchy from the haircut." Lucas shouted at me. "Alright." I yelled back.

I sat down on the recliner chair and picked up the book that Lucas left on the coffee table, _The Great Gatsby_ by Fitzgerald. Lucas was really into reading, one of the things that I learned about him was that Gatsby was his all time favorite book. You could tell, the pages were dog-eared and there were highlighted sections. It was really worn.

"Peyton, do you want to order in for dinner and watch a movie?" Lucas asked. He came out dressed in a towel, and I could see water glistening on his well toned body. Droplets of moisture dripping from his jawline to his toned arms and down his torso.

I heard Lucas call my name "Peyton?" he said.

I felt my voice squeak and my breath was caught in my throat. "Um yeah?" I cleared my throat and heard Lucas chuckle.

"Am I that hot?" He asked cockily.

I snorted, "In your dreams, what did you want?"

"Oh yeah, order in and a movie for dinner sound good?" he asked. God damn it, he really needed some clothes, or I was never going to be able to function properly again.

"Yeah, and go put on some clothes!" I said. I heard his laugh. " So you do think I'm that hot!" He shouted as he was walking to his room.

I turned around, and began thinking about my friendship with Lucas. I think I was beginning to feel something that should not be happening.

**Sorry for the short chapter! I am so swamped in work, but I really wanted to get an update in. Please review!!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

**Thank you all for the awesome reviews! They are all awesome! I am really happy that so many of you like it :) keep reading and reviewing! Sorry for the late update, I've been swamped with school work.**

For the last week and a half, it seemed like everything was going really well in the land of Peyton. Lucas and I had become good friends, and we were attached at the hip. We ate breakfast together, we shopped together, and I have to say it was pretty awesome. I really liked having him as friend, though I was still a little wary of him, he was doing his best and I could tell. It was really great, and it reminded me so much of my high school days, and just having fun.

Except, there was only so much fun we could have. I was constantly battling within myself to start the background work for the mission or to either spend another lazy day with Lucas. It was always a Lucas day. I knew eventually we would have to get started, but for now, just relaxing was nice. Besides, I had been called out here while I was supposed to be on vacation.

This was a nice break, considering if I had stayed in LA, I would have spent most of my time alone and bitter. I feel like Lucas made a different side of me come out, he possessed the ability to see the good inside of me and to read my mind, there wasn't really anything like an "uncomfortable silence" between us.

I was in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables for the pasta I was making for lunch, when I heard his footsteps nearing me. I felt his arm on the small of my back, while he looked over my shoulder to see what I was cooking. I could feel his breath on my neck and my arms.

" Hey girl, what's for lunch?" he asked me.

" I'm not really sure yet, I was thinking like vegetables and pasta."

" Nice, that sounds good. You want a hand?"

" Sure, that sounds good. Can you chop up the zucchini?"

"Yeah" he said. As he moved away from me to get the vegetable, I felt his hand slide across my back and, to be honest, it gave me the chills. His skin was always warm, and it was really nice. We fell into a comfortable silence while chopping, and the steady rhythm of the knives was nice.

While we were eating lunch, I decided to bring up the topic of work, because we really did need to get started.

"So, I was thinking, we really need to start preparing for the job that Pete told us about. The package he mentioned should be here soon, and he'll want an update on our status." I mentioned to Lucas.

" Yeah, alright, well where do you think we should start?"

" Well, I don't know how long we're going to be here, and I don't know what kind of access the European governments have on the US CIA, so I was thinking that we should go to the salon today and get makeovers. Just so we look different from the pictures they would have on file." I really did not want to risk anything, and as I looked up at Lucas I saw disbelief in his eyes.

" You really want me to have a makeover? No joke?" he asked.

" No joke" I stated firmly.

" Well, alright then, if you think its best. Do you want to go after we eat?" He asked me. I was shocked, I had actually expected more resistance to the idea. I nodded, and he smiled.

One meal and thirty minutes later we were at a hair salon called _Il Salone Italiano. _It was a cozy little salon we had found in the middle of town. We walked in, and the receptionist looked up and smiled.

"_Ciao. Come poterl'aiuto?" _she was a beautiful woman with long brown hair and really shiny teeth. I silently thanked Lucas for making me learn Italian.

"_Ho bisogno di al colorante i miei capelli" _I answered. In my opinion, I thought I had answered pretty well.

The lady smiled, and said " Are you guys from America?" I was shocked, she looked Italian to me.

" You speak English?" I asked with disbelief.

" Yes, I moved here to attend culinary school, so I know both languages. Your Italian is pretty good, but I recognized the American accent." I smiled gratefully.

" So you want to dye your hair?" she asked.

I nodded and said "Yeah, brown-ish and I was thinking that maybe we could give me some bangs and straighten it."

I felt Lucas nudge my side, so I looked over to see him shaking his head. " Peyton, I like your hair blond! And don't get rid of your curls!" He looked upset that I was even thinking about changing my hair. It was so sweet.

"Luke" I said, I touched his arm and laughed. "It'll come out when my hair grows out. It's not going to be brown and straight for forever." He still looked kind of upset. "Aww! Poor baby!" I laughed, "You'll get over it."

I looked over at the receptionist to see her smiling. " I must say, I agree with him, your hair is such a lovely color and the curls are simply gorgeous. People pay a lot of money to try and get their hair like that."

"I know, but like I said to him, I just want to change it up a bit, I mean, I don't have to pay anything to get my hair to be curly. If I don't like the brown, then I'll come back and have you re-dye it. Plus, my hair will grow out." I said. I was getting a tad irritated now. I just wanted my hair done!

"Well, OK, have a seat in that chair over there and Maria will be with you." She said. I went and sat down. I could hear Lucas talking to the receptionist, he was saying something along the lines of wanting a buzz cut. I wanted to tell him not to, but I remembered that it was all part of the job, and plus, he'd done the same thing when I wanted to change my hair. But, I really liked his hair right now, it was a nice smooth young adult look. His blond hair always stood up at the top, and it was adorable. I loved the way it was smooth and I had always wanted to run my hands through his hair.

After our respective makeovers, I had shoulder length brunette hair, and Lucas was sporting a more rugged look. We walked back to the house, and decided to stop for some gelato on the way. Lucas had his arm around my waist, and I was sure that to the rest of the world we looked like a couple. But I didn't really care that much, I had a friend and that's all that matters. Plus I'm never going to actually know anybody here, so who the hell cares what they think?

I got mint choclate chip, and Luke got cookie dough flavored gelatos. They were much better than the American version of gelato. The whole way home was filled with laughter and enjoyment. Lucas was constantly complaining about how he liked my blond curly hair better. " I always really wanted to shock you one day and yank your hair really hard." He said. "Asshole!" I shouted back. "No, I have really wanted to do that to someone, and you just seem like the perfect person!" He laughed at me. "Plus, your curly spirals were really cool. Its more exciting." He said. I shrugged. Its not like I had much choice, we couldn't be recognized by anyone in the European Nation meeting. "I'm gonna shower, Peyton! I'm really itchy from the haircut." Lucas shouted at me. "Alright." I yelled back.

I sat down on the recliner chair and picked up the book that Lucas left on the coffee table, _The Great Gatsby_ by Fitzgerald. Lucas was really into reading, one of the things that I learned about him was that Gatsby was his all time favorite book. You could tell, the pages were dog-eared and there were highlighted sections. It was really worn.

"Peyton, do you want to order in for dinner and watch a movie?" Lucas asked. He came out dressed in a towel, and I could see water glistening on his well toned body. Droplets of moisture dripping from his jawline to his toned arms and down his torso.

I heard Lucas call my name "Peyton?" he said.

I felt my voice squeak and my breath was caught in my throat. "Um yeah?" I cleared my throat and heard Lucas chuckle.

"Am I that hot?" He asked cockily.

I snorted, "In your dreams, what did you want?"

"Oh yeah, order in and a movie for dinner sound good?" he asked. God damn it, he really needed some clothes, or I was never going to be able to function properly again.

"Yeah, and go put on some clothes!" I said. I heard his laugh. " So you do think I'm that hot!" He shouted as he was walking to his room.

I turned around, and began thinking about my friendship with Lucas. I think I was beginning to feel something that should not be happening.

**Sorry for the short chapter! I am so swamped in work, but I really wanted to get an update in. Please review!!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

**Hey guys! I hope I haven't lost my readers. I'm really sorry, I just needed sometime to figure out where this was going. I think its going to move a bit faster now! Read and Review! (I do accept anonymous reviews)**

I rolled over on the bed and buried my face into the pillow. The sunshine was streaming through the huge windows, and it was really hurting my eyes.

"Mmpht!" I mumbled as I buried my face under my pillow.

I opened one eye only to find a long pair of legs greeting me. I looked them over and then up at Peyton who was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Lucas!" she hissed at me. " Get up! We have got so much work to do, and here you are, sleeping!!" she was now screeching at me. I moaned, turned over and shut my eyes, hoping that if I tried long enough, the sunlight and the voice would go away. Clearly, I had no such luck. Peyton grabbed the comforter off of me and took the bottle of water on my nightstand and placed it over my head.

I raised my eyebrows, daring her to pour it. "You would never." I said.

She smirked and dumped the bottle on top of my head. "JESUS!" I gasped. That water was ice cold, and she was laughing at me! I was so not happy. In one quick move, I picked her up and threw her on the bed, spraying the water from my hair on to her. I heard her complain, but to silence her, I simply began tickling her.

"Lucas!" she was gasping for air.

"Thats what you get for dumping water on me." I said, while laughing. In one smooth move I had her over my shoulder, kicking and screaming, and in the bathroom.

"Pay back's a bitch." I said. I turned the shower water on, and stuck her head in the shower. She was kicking and yelling rather violently now, so I moved her so that she was standing on two feet, in the shower.

" You little bitch! You seriously did not just DUNK me in water!" She began hitting my chest, and before I knew it, we were both in the shower fully clothed. I was holding on to her wrists, and she was trying to struggle free .I had her pushed back up against the wall, my hands pinned on either side of her. Looking around I realized the compromising position we were in. She began talking, but suddenly all I could think about was kissing her. I descended my lips on to hers, and immediately felt her respond. Skimming my tongue across her lips, I was granted permission, and we were suddenly battling for control. All I could feel was the water hitting my back, her hands underneath my shirt grazing my stomach and back. And then out of nowhere, everything went ice cold. I felt something pulling at me, and water hitting me in the face.

Jolted awake, I suddenly felt very cold. Looking around to see what was happening, I saw Peyton standing there smirking, looking at my pants. I followed her gaze and suddenly turned beet red. The crotch section of my pants had grown very tight, and the fabric was severely stretched out.

"Just so you know, I seriously do not want to know what you were dreaming about. But, now you have two reasons to get up." she smirked again, and left.

Groaning, I sat down on my bed and tried to clear my thoughts. Too frustrated to sit still, I decided a shower would be in my best interest right now. Making my way to the bathroom, I turned the water on and jumped in, enjoying the feeling of the lukewarm water against my back. Remembering my dream from this morning, I felt myself stiffen and quickly turned the water to cold. I just lent against the wall, trying desperately to gather myself before having to face her. I decided not to analyze the dream just yet, seeing as I had the whole day with her, I didn't want to make any shocking revelations to myself just yet.

It was around noon, and neither of us had mentioned the incident in the morning, and I was grateful. I needed to sort some stuff out, and contemplate other things. I was trying to act normal around Peyton, I was, but I just _kept thinking about that dream. _I sighed, knowing that I would have to just get over it, my personal issues can't get in the way of work.

We were sitting in a taxi, I vaguely remember her saying something about going to the Embassy today. I was staring out the window, looking at the passing by scenery and thinking about everything when I felt a hand on my arm.

"Hey." she said gently. " You okay? You just seem a little spaced out today."

I smiled and ran a hand through her now brown hair. "I'm good, just thinking. Don't worry your pretty little head about me."

She smiled and turned back to the window. I just looked at her and kept wondering "Could it really happen?"

After about 10 minutes, we had stopped driving and were stopped in front of a beautiful glass building.

"This is it." said the driver.

Peyton and I smiled, thanking him as we got out. I bent over to pay the driver, and he said "Don't let her go son, she's a keeper." while patting my arm. "Thank you sir, and don't worry, I won't.".

I was beginning to get very irritated. "Peyton, why don't we just go to the top floor ourselves? That's where we're going to end up anyways."

She sighed, "Yeah, OK. Come on." I sighed of relief once we got in the elevator. For twenty minutes we had been wandering around the Embassy, being sent from floor to floor, office to office. It was getting irritating having to repeat ourselves every two minutes.

We got up to the top floor, and found ourselves in the office of the Ambassador's secretary. Pete had sent us overly qualified resumes to present, should we choose the safer route of getting a job within the headquarters. Mr. Fiorentino was looking through our resumes and nodding, I took that as a good sign. He was an older man, with wrinkles around his brow and a decreasing hairline. Suddenly, he threw the files down and said "I've reviewed both of your resumes, and they seem perfect for the job. Since you all will be new, you will basically assist the ambassador, doing anything he needs you too."

I nodded and looked over at Peyton, who was smiling. "That sounds great." I heard her say.

"Well, its settled then. I will call you when the Ambassador is free, just so you can meet prior to the start date." said Mr. Fiorentino. Just then we heard a door click, and an old man came out. "No need Miles, I cleared my calendar for the next two hours so I can talk to the new employees." He motioned for us to follow him into his office.

We'd been sitting in his office for over half an hour, and not once had he acknowledged me. He had gone so far as offering Peyton and himself a drink, but not even bothering to glance at me. It wasn't this that bothered me, as much as the _way_ he was eying Peyton was making me agitated. I don't know if she noticed, but I surely did. The way his eyes lingered on her legs just a little too long when she came in, and the way he was eying her now, looking right at her chest. This man was despicable.

"Lucas" said the Ambassador. My head snapped up. He was talking to me? I really wanted to say something to piss him off, but I saw Peyton glaring at me, and decided it was probably best not to.

"Yes sir?" I said, clenching my teeth, but trying to remain civil towards the creep.

"Miles is coming in, and he is going to show you around , and tell you all about your duties."

"Okay." I motioned for Peyton to get up, and as she was beginning to, I heard his voice again.

"Miss Sawyer will stay with me. I need to finish up discussing some things with her, and then I'll personally show her around."

As soon as I heard this, my fists were clenched. I could feel my eyes narrowing, and then I felt her hand give me a reassuring squeeze. She motioned to me with her eyes that she would be fine, and for me to just go. I sighed and got up. "I'll wait for you in the lobby." I said.

Furious. That's what she was. And it scared me. Big time.

Coming into the lobby, she hadn't even glanced at me, instead walking right past me and out the door. I ran to catch up with her, and just started walking, I decided it wasn't best to say anything right now. We just kept walking, wandering aimlessly. It had been around ten minutes since she came out of the lobby, and Peyton seemed to have cooled off a bit.

"Hey, um, Peyton?" I said.

She turned around rather aggressively. "Lucas, I don't want to talk about it. Just walk."

"Um, yeah, well that's fine. But can we walk to a restaurant or something? I'm starved."

Nodding, she still continued walking quietly. We turned into a little cafe, and ordered food to eat. The meal wasn't exactly like our usual ones, it was really quiet. I was getting worried about Peyton, but I didn't want to cause a scene outside either. I decided to deal with it when we got home, I really hoped that she would open up to me. The theories I was coming up with were not easing my fears at all.

We both finished off what we ordered, and resumed our walking. I tried to put my arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and kept going. I sighed.

"Peyton, just wait."

"Lucas, please." her voice was sad, quiet. She wasn't even angry anymore, just, sad.

I nodded and motioned for her to keep walking. "We'll do this your way." I said in defeat.

We were now walking down a street of shops, when Peyton suddenly ducked behind me. "What the hell?" I said.

"Just keep walking." she hissed.

"No way Peyton, I went along with the charade of yours at the Embassy, but this I demand an explanation for. What could _possibly _be in Italy that makes you want to hide behind me?"

She mumbled something incoherent. "What?" I asked her.

Again, a mumble. "For goodness sake Peyton, speak up please!"

She sighed. "Brooke Davis." And then, right on cue, a spunky brunette came out and said "Well , well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Peyton Sawyer, and her eyes shifted to me and narrowed, and Lucas Scott." she practically spat out my name.

I could feel both of us shrink under her glare. "Brooke?"

**Once again, I am so sorry for the lack of updates. But, just so you know, I totally flaked on studying for biology to post this :D**

**Reward me with reviews?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

**A/N: **I'm SO sorry for not updating. SO sorry. I got kind of stuck, and then the story slipped my mind. I'm _really really really _sorry and I hope that I still have some readers who are willing to read this. Also, I know that this is "Chapter 7" and now the numbering of the chapters is messed up but that's because I deleted the author's note. So this **IS a new chapter**_**.**_

And, I know that this supposed to be in Peyton's POV but I forgot that until AFTER i wrote the chapter. So, I'll start the alternating thing next chapter. Sorry!

_**Also, I wanted to thank 'the changing leaf of eternity' for their amazing review and kind suggestions. Re-reading your review inspired me, so this chapter is dedicated to you.**_

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Brooke Davis. _The _Brooke Davis, the girl who I haven't seen since my senior year was now suddenly standing in front of me and she had a rather unhappy expression on her face. She marched right up to me and whacked me upside the head.

"Oww! What the hell was that for?" I asked while rubbing the back of my head.

"Because you jackass, it's been too long! I go years without contact and suddenly you appear out of thin air, in Italy of all places!"

I walked up to Brooke and enveloped her in my arms. Hearing her raspy voice and her Brooke-like tone just made the memories come flooding back to me. When I first touched her, I felt her body tense but then she relaxed into the hug and I felt her arms wrap around me. I sighed into her hair and rubbed her back.

"It's so good to see you again. You have no idea." I whispered into her hair.

As soon as those words came out of my mouth she pulled away from me and smacked me in the chest.

"Ow! You are violent today! What was that one for?" I asked, rubbing my chest.

"Well whose fault is that? I wasn't the one who just got up and left."

I pulled her into my arms again and kissed the top of her head, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you why left, or if I'm ever going to come back. But just know that you meant a lot to me Brooke. Even after we stopped hooking up, you were one of my best friends. As much as you'd like to think it, I never forgot you."

" Then why'd you leave?" I heard her sadly say. Knowing that I couldn't answer that question, I kept rubbing her back. Dropping a kiss in her hair, I suddenly remembered that Peyton was with me and she was going through some weird issues as it is. I pulled away from Brooke and looked around to see that it was only us.

I smacked my head "I'm such an _idiot_."

"What happened?"

"Peyton, she left."

Brooke snorted, and I snapped my head back to look at her "Great, she's been gone for 5 seconds, and you start missing her. I'm back for 5 seconds, and you lose interest in me already!"

I was stunned, I honestly was. When we first saw Brooke and she hissed at Peyton I had totally written it off. I figured it was a Brooke-like way of greeting her. But hearing her now, the hatred in her tone made me jump back. What happened between the two?

"Brooke" I began " I –"

"Please Lucas, just don't. I know you think that I'm being a bitch." She let out a sad chuckle "Who treats their best friend like that, right?"

I tried again "Brooke-"

"No, Lucas. Do not even begin to lecture me on this because even though your wise words are probably going to be right in a sense, no one can feel the hurt that I felt. She just left, Lucas. I called her for weeks. 283 times to be exact, and she didn't answer even once. I got worried, really worried so I flew back to Tree Hill and guess what? She got up one night and left. I went to her house in the morning and do you know what I found? I found an empty bed, her shelves were empty of all music, and there was this little piece of paper that said "I'm Sorry"." Brooke scoffed. "She's sorry." There were tears in her eyes now, and as I moved closer to her to try and comfort her, she moved away from me.

"And I see her again, after all these years and she didn't say even a single word to me. She walked away."

"I'm sorry Brooke."

" What did I do?" she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective manner, as if she was trying to shield herself from me.

"Brooke. Listen to me, you didn't do anything. Peyton leaving, me leaving, it wasn't your fault."

"But you both did. Even you, you just left. I asked Karen and Keith and they told me you were off at some conference or something. That's what happened every time I asked. I tried calling you, but your number was disconnected. I even _wrote_ to you Lucas. Even though I was in New York, I missed you guys so much. You were my family, you know that. I felt like I lost my world." She was openly crying now, black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks as well.

I felt like an ass. I don't know what possessed me to become a part of the CIA. I went through 3 years of training, countless missions and a year in the "service". All for what? All so that I could lose my family, my friends? I didn't want that kind of life.

Brooke's voice turned cold. "I think you should leave now." She turned around to leave, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Wait." I called out. "How long are you here for Brooke?"

" As long as Victoria see's fit." Her voice was cold and devoid of any emotion, and this stunned me. I never took Brooke for an ice princess. She was always Cheery to me.

"At least meet me for lunch tomorrow?"

She sighed. "Why should I Luke? Italy isn't your home; you're not going to be here for much longer. Why should I bother?"

"Because I want to make things right Brooke. You deserve that, our friendship deserves that much at least."

A small glimmer of a smile appeared on her lips. "Alright. Meet me here at 12, and don't be late."

I gave her a mock salute "Yes Ma'am." Flashing her a smile, I waved and turned around, heading towards home.

"Hey Luke." I heard

"Yeah?" I said

"Take care of her for me."

I smiled. " I wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to her."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The flat was eerily quiet when I entered. I stopped to put my keys on the counter and I called out for Peyton.

"Are you there?" I asked.

"Peyt?"

I didn't get a response at first, but I heard some faint music coming from within her room. I knocked on the door.

"Peyton?" I asked softly.

I was starting to get worried, so I opened the door only to find that the music was on, but no one was in the room. The window was open, and the cool ocean breeze was flitting about, but there was no sign that someone was in the room, now or before. I opened the door to the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief. The bathroom looked wet, and there was a towel on the floor, which meant that Peyton had come home. But where was she now?

"Peyt?" I called out, louder this time.

I ran a hand through my hair and ran out of the room, scouring the house to try and find her. I checked my room, the bathroom, the kitchen and even the two spare rooms we have. There was nothing, not even a trace of a person. The kitchen looked the same as it did this morning, and the rooms were virtually untouched.

"Dammit Peyt, where are you?" I growled in frustration. I tried calling her cell, but it was off. This was getting ridiculous, and a bottomless pit of worry was beginning to form in my stomach. I ran out of the house and along the street, calling out her name. People were giving me strange looks, but I didn't care. I _had_ to find her.

It was getting dark now, and I was beyond panic. The worst scenarios kept popping up into my head, and I couldn't do anything about it because my brain was on overdrive. I was in a park now and I'd wandered into the back where there was a little pond and a bench. There were trees surrounding the whole area, and it was one those places you just stumbled upon when you were walking aimlessly. It just screamed Peyton. I looked around, and there was no one there. Dejectedly, I sat down on the bench and put my heads in my hands, racking my brain of some clue that would tell me where I could find her.

_**Flashback**_

_After eating dinner, Peyton and I were sitting out on the balcony that overlooked the beach. Turning my head to look at her, I noticed her staring intently at the beach with a faraway look in her eyes._

_I shoved her lightly to pull her out of her trance. "Where's your head at Blondie?"_

_She shrugged. "Nowhere. Everywhere. I don't know." Letting out a sigh she turned to me. "After a while, the whole "secret agent" thing pulled me away from everyone, my friends and my family. And…when I came back, I felt so out of the loop and like a stranger. Everyone got so far apart. So I went to the beach." She let out a little chuckle before continuing "There was little secluded part of the beach where I would go when I was a teenager. You know? To get away from everyone and everything. I would sit there for hours, and just stare out at the ocean."_

_**End Flashback**_

Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that earlier? I turned around and ran all the way back to our house, going right through the bushes and shrubs that separated the houses from the beach. I ran down the beach and saw the silhouette of a person.

I ran over, slowing down to a walk when I neared her. She sat there, curly blonde hair blowing around in the wind, wearing jeans and a simple black zip-up sweater. I sat down wordlessly next to her, both of us staring out at the sea.

"She died, you know?" Peyton spoke.

I remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"My mom. She died when I was nine, in a car accident."

Putting my arm around her shoulders, I brought her closer to me letting her lean into the crook of my shoulder.

"She was an agent, just like me. She…s-she…" her voice broke and I rubbed her back, dropping a kiss into her hair.

"Sshh. It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to tell me." I whispered.

"N-no, I do." She shrugged my arm off of her and turned to face me.

She sniffled and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "It was a hit-and-run. It was her right of way, and some guy just rammed into her. She died on impact. She'd just gotten back from a mission in Italy, and she was on her way to pick me up from school. I remember seeing her at the hospital, in that stretcher. Her, h-her hands were limp and her face was pale. There was blood coming out of her head, and her blonde hair was matted down with dried blood. I, I never even got to say goodbye."

I pulled her full force into me, and hugged her. Wrapping my arms around her small frame, I felt her hands around my neck, hugging me back and letting her tears come out in heart-wrenching sobs.

"Shh, shhh." I murmured into her ear. "It's gonna be okay. I'm here, I'm here." I calmed her down, and then we walked back to the house, my arms around her waist and her leaning into me.

I walked her to her room, shutting off her music and closing the window. While I waited for her to come out of the bathroom, I picked up a picture of what I assumed to be a much younger Peyton and her mother. They were on a swing, Peyton in her lap and they were smiling, totally happy and carefree.

"That was when I was 8."

I turned around to find Peyton dressed in sweatpants, a tank top and her face was scrubbed clean; any sign that she was crying was gone. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and I couldn't help but think that she looked breathtaking.

I smiled, "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just…Brooke, my mom…it was all too much."

I touched her arm, "Hey, hey. We're friends right? This is what friends do. Plus, a golden rule of friendships: No Sorrys and no thank-you's."

She nodded, "Except for this once. Thanks Luke."

I smiled. "No problem."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As I lay in bed that night, I remembered the dream I'd had last night. Peyton was beautiful, she was sincere, and she intrigued me. I realized that I didn't need to analyze the dream. I knew what I wanted. But did she want me?

I hope that this chapter made up for the lack of updates, but I'm going to try and aim for every week or two weeks for updates now. Super sorry!

**But please review! They are really inspirational and I love reading them. I do accept anonymous reviews. :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Chapter 8**

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**lalez: **No, it wasn't a mistake though it did seem like it. Lucas and Brooke always knew each other and they went out for a while in their senior year. I'll address all of that in the next chapter.

The soundtrack that I used for this chapter was 'Feeling a Moment' by Feeder. I don't know why, but it was the song that made the wheels in my head turn.

I was avoiding Lucas.

When he came into my room in the morning, I'd feigned exhaustion. After that, I was in the shower for forty-five minutes and by the time that I got out, he'd been out on his daily run, thank god. I snuck out of the house before he could come back and left a note with "grocery shopping" as my excuse. I just needed to get away and think about everything that had bombarded my plate in the last twenty-four hours. Right now, I was sitting in a café, mulling over my life.

First there was the pervy ambassador. I'd dealt with stuff like that before, I wouldn't be where I was if I hadn't. But this time Lucas was there too, and from what I'd seen last time we met with the ambassador, he wasn't a big fan of it. Plus, when he was there seeing me get hit on, it was uncomfortable for me. Usually, it didn't matter because the people in the offices didn't react and I didn't care what they thought of me. But seeing Lucas there, with the contempt on his face it just made me feel _dirty_. But when the ambassador propositioned me in his office, and felt his way up my leg, that's when I draw the line. Luke or no Luke, my job didn't involve being a whore. I'd still gotten the job, _of course_, but now I'd have to be wary of being alone with him for too long.

Then there was the incident with Brooke Davis. What was she doing in Italy? How the hell did we manage to run into her? But the thing that was bothering me the most was how Brooke and Lucas knew each other. I'd been her best friend for most of my life and I really didn't remember ever hearing about a Lucas or even meeting him. I feel so bad for what my job made me do to Brooke, and I don't think that I can explain to her that it was necessary for me to leave like I had. I knew what it was like to be abandoned – both my mother and father had done it to me – and I knew that if I saw Brooke and told her about this, I would change my mind. In all honesty, Brooke needed me just as much as I needed her, and even though she would tell me that it would be okay, it really wouldn't. I figured that it would be easier for everyone involved if I just left, because then they couldn't do anything about it except move on.

But seeing her again, that had brought up emotions that I wasn't ready to deal with yet. I hadn't been to Tree Hill in so long, that seeing her reminded me of Nathan and Haley, and all my other friends that I'd just left behind. Haley had left to go on tour, but she came back 6 weeks later. I had slowly faded away, all because I found out that my dad was re-marrying and I couldn't take it. That's what prompted me to take the job in the first place, because if I left, I didn't have to face it and I didn't have to deal with it. The CIA was my way of escaping and running away from my problems, and honestly, I don't even know if I really liked it or if I _ever_ liked it. If I was being honest with myself, I did this because my mother did. It was my way of keeping a little piece of her with me all the time, because I liked to think that she would be proud of me when she saw me today.

"If the coffee's that bad, I'm sure you can ask for another one." Said a voice that I didn't recognize. "It's a pain in the ass, but it's really not worth a pretty girl crying over."

I looked up to find a man about my age staring at me and smiling. He was tall, with brown hair, wearing a grey fitted v-neck sweater underneath a burgundy jacket.

"God," I said, wiping my eyes. I'd been crying and I didn't even realize it. "You know, the last thing I need right now is some hot-shot Italian guy hitting on me."

"Wow," he said, smirking and turning away. "Okay."

He was about half a foot away when he turned around and spoke again "For arguments sake, what if I was a lost American trying to find my way around here?"

I scoffed, turning away, beginning to pack up my bag. "You know," he began again.

"What?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

" The best thing about bad coffee is that it makes you reevaluate your choices, so that maybe next time the same thing doesn't happen." He said, smirking and walking away, for good this time.

I sighed and got up, throwing away my mostly untouched coffee on my way out. I walked to the grocery store, deciding to have something to back up my claim incase Lucas was home when I got back.

-----------------------------------------

I lugged the bags inside the flat, placing them on the kitchen counter. If there was one thing that I'd realized when I was at the grocery store, it was that I really wanted to mend my friendship with Brooke, for good, not just for the duration of this mission. I'd come to terms with the fact that I went along with my plan of running away to forget my problems, but I needed to get over that; there's only so much running I can do. At 26 years of age, it's time to face the world head on. I wanted my life back.

By the time that I came home, it was noon and Lucas had left me a note back saying that he was going out as well, and that he would be back later. He didn't say where he was going so I just threw the note away and ate a quick lunch. I was dreading telling Lucas that I didn't plan on coming back, especially because last night seemed like a new step in our friendship. I spent the rest of the day cleaning the house because it hadn't been cleaned in the entire time we'd been staying here. I did the laundry, folded the sheets, cleaned the bathrooms and the floors, and cleaned out the kitchen. When I was done, it was around 4 and I decided to jump in the shower because I felt really grimy.

I stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around myself. The cold air from outside the bathroom felt good. I stepped into my room, only to find Lucas sitting on my bed, waiting for me.

"You're going out to dinner with Brooke in three hours."

**A/N: **I'm really sorry about the messed up thing with the reviews, but that's fixed this chapter. :)

I was planning on making this chapter longer, but I decided to stop it here because I felt that Peyton and Lucas both needed a chapter to themselves. There will be some _major_ L/P interaction in the chapters to come, I promise. But, I just need to figure out where this story is going so I stopped the chapter here. I hope it's not terrible.

In this chapter, I'd originally planned on Peyton expressing her doubts regarding her and Lucas's relationship, but I think I'm going to address that in the next chapter.

Please Review! :) (As always, I accept anonymous reviews)


	10. Authors Note URGENT!

Dear Readers,

**T****his is NOT an update, but an URGENT author's note.**

I haven't been on FF for a while now, and this trend will probably continue for quite sometime, if not forever. I have a lot of great recommendations in my favorites, and there just isn't a way to delete an FF account, so I'm leaving everything up.

That being said, don't delete me just yet! Another reason I didn't delete was because I might just get an update for a story, but if it were gone, I couldn't update. **I MIGHT ACTUALLY UPDATE, YOU NEVER KNOW! ;)**

The reason for this inactivation is just that I've had MAD writers block for quite some time now, but also because of some personal reasons. I do love all of my readers and reviewers, and I'd like to thank you all for reading, reviewing and giving me encouragement.

FanFiction really is a great place, and I've met some GREAT people. Please, please, **PLEASE check out my favorites and my profile for some other AWESOME reads. You may actually like some of them! You never know!**

Anyways, I posted this authors note to 'alert' all of my readers to this change. But, also, (and I got this from a friend), it would be kind of cool to let one of the readers finish writing this for me. You never know. Please PM me if you are at all interested.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up now.

**THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS/REVIEWERS. YOU TRULY DID BRIGHTEN MY DAY WITH A SMILE EACH TIME I GOT A REVIEW!**

**Anyways, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to PM me for ANYTHING at all :)  
**

XOXOX,Music Is Love 10

**P.S. Check out STDAY, xoMUSICLOVERxo and YTSGRL on FF for some other great stories.**

**SMC27 is the BOMB for LP stories. **


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